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Great Ardra
The Kingdom of Ardra, also known as the Kingdom of Allada, was a coastal West African kingdom in southern Benin. While historically a sovereign kingdom, in present times the monarchy continues to exist as a non-sovereign monarchy within the republic of Benin. It was named for its capital, the modern Allada, which was also the main city and major port of the realm. The city and kingdom were supposedly founded by a group of Aja migrants from Tado, a settlement along the Mono River, in the 12th or 13th century. Its kings "ruled with the consent of the elders of the people". The state reached the peak of its power in the 16th and early 17th centuries, when it was an important source of slaves for the Atlantic trade. By the mid-15th century, the city of Allada had a population of approximately 30,000 people, while the state as a whole had a population of nearly 200,000 people by the 16th century. Name The name is variously spelled Ardra, Ardrah, Ardres, Hardre, Arda, Arada, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy), to fully autocratic (absolute monarchy), and can expand across the domains of the executive, legislative, and judicial. The succession of monarchs in many cases has been hereditical, often building dynastic periods. However, elective and self-proclaimed monarchies have also happened. Aristocrats, though not inherent to monarchies, often serve as the pool of persons to draw the monarch from and fill the constituting institutions (e.g. diet and court), giving many monarchies oligarchic elements. Monarchs can carry various titles such as emperor, empress, king, queen, raja, khan, tsar, sultan, shah, or pharaoh. Monarchies can form federations, personal unions and realms with vassals through personal association with the monarch, whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oyo Empire
The Oyo Empire was a powerful Yoruba empire of West Africa made up of parts of present-day eastern Benin and western Nigeria (including Southwest zone and the western half of Northcentral zone). It grew to become the largest Yoruba language, Yoruba-speaking state and rose through the outstanding organizational and administrative skills of the Yoruba people, wealth gained from trade, and a powerful cavalry. The Oyo State, Oyo Empire was one of the most politically important states in the entirety of Western Africa from the mid-17th to the late 18th century, and held sway not only over most of the other kingdoms in Yorubaland, but also over nearby African states, notably the Fon people, Fon Kingdom of Dahomey in the modern Republic of Benin on its west. History Legend of origin The origins of the Oyo Empire lie with Oranyan (also known as Oranmiyan), the last prince of the Yoruba Kingdom of Ile-Ife (Ife). Oranmiyan made an agreement with his brother to launch a punitive raid o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blunderbuss
The blunderbuss is a firearm with a short, large caliber barrel which is flared at the muzzle and frequently throughout the entire bore, and used with shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity or caliber. The blunderbuss is commonly considered to be an early predecessor of the modern shotgun, with similar military and defensive use. It was effective only at short range, lacking accuracy at long distances. A blunderbuss in handgun form was called a ''dragon'', and it is from this that the term ''dragoon'' evolved. Etymology The term "blunderbuss" is of Dutch origin, from the Dutch word ''donderbuis'', which is a combination of ''donder'', meaning "thunder", and ''buis'', meaning "pipe" (Middle Dutch: ''busse'', box, tube, from Late Latin, ''buxis'', box, from Ancient Greek ''pyxίs'' (πυξίς), box: esp. from boxwood). The transition from ''donder'' to ''blunder'' is thought by some to be deliberate; the term ''blunder'' was originally used in a transitive sense, syno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Large-calibre Artillery
The formal definition of large-calibre artillery used by the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA) is "guns, howitzers, artillery pieces, combining the characteristics of a gun, howitzer, mortar, or multiple-launch rocket system, capable of engaging surface targets by delivering primarily indirect fire, with a calibre of 75 millimetres and above". This definition, shared by the Arms Trade Treaty and the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, is derived from a definition in United Nations General Assembly Resolution 46/36L, which set a threshold of 100mm. Several grammatical changes were made to that latter in 1992 and the threshold was lowered in 2003 to yield the current definition, as endorsed by UN General Assembly Resolution 58/54. Historically, large-calibre weapons have included bombards and siege guns. Late Middle Ages In the context of late medieval siege warfare the term superguns applies to stone-firing bombards with a ball diameter of more ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swivel Guns
The term swivel gun (or simply swivel) usually refers to a small cannon, mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun with two barrels that rotated along their axes to allow the shooter to switch between rifled and smoothbore barrels. Swivel guns should not be confused with pivot guns, which were far larger weapons mounted on a horizontal pivot, or screw guns, which are a mountain gun with a segmented barrel. An older term for the type is peterero (alternative spellings include "paterero" and "pederero"). The name was taken from the Spanish name for the gun, pedrero, a combination of the word piedra (stone) and the suffix -ero (-er), because stone was the first type of ammunition fired. Configuration Swivel guns are among the smallest types of cannon, typically measuring less than in length and with a bore diameter of up to . They can fire a variety o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Light Artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and led to heavy, fairly immobile siege engines. As technology improved, lighter, more mobile field artillery cannons developed for battlefield use. This development continues today; modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility generally providing the largest share of an army's total firepower. Originally, the word "artillery" referred to any group of soldiers primarily armed with some form of manufactured weapon or armor. Since the introduction of gunpowder and cannon, "artillery" has largely meant cannons, and in contemporary usage, usually refers to shell-firing guns, howitzers, and mortars (collectively called ''barrel artillery'', ''cannon artillery'', ''gun artillery'', or - a layman te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arrowslit
An arrowslit (often also referred to as an arrow loop, loophole or loop hole, and sometimes a balistraria) is a narrow vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows or a crossbowman can launch bolts. The interior walls behind an arrow loop are often cut away at an oblique angle so that the archer has a wide field of view and field of fire. Arrow slits come in a variety of forms. A common one is the cross, accommodating the use of both the longbow and the crossbow. The narrow vertical aperture permits the archer large degrees of freedom to vary the elevation and direction of their bowshot, but makes it difficult for attackers to harm the archer since there is only a small target at which to aim. Balistraria, plural balistrariae, from balister, crossbowman can often be found in the curtain walls of medieval battlements beneath the crenellations. History The invention of the arrowslit is attributed to Archimedes during the siege of Syracuse in 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Thornton (historian)
John K. Thornton is an American historian specializing in the history of Africa, the African Diaspora and the Atlantic world. He is a professor in the history department at Boston University. Biography Early life and education Thornton was born 3 May 1949 in Fort Monroe, Virginia. His father, Col. Robert L. Thornton, was then serving in the US Air Force, eventually becoming a professor of Business Administration at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. His mother, Mary E. (Kelly) Thornton, a classicist, was also later a professor at Miami U. His sister is novelist Betsy Thornton. His daughter Amara Thornton is a historian of archaeology working in the United Kingdom. He was educated at the University of Michigan (1971) and UCLA (1972 and PhD 1979). He is married to fellow Africanist historian and collaborator Linda Heywood. Career Thornton held various history faculty positions in the United States and Africa during the 1980s including the University of Zambia, Allegheny Col ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ditch
A ditch is a small to moderate divot created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches are commonly seen around farmland, especially in areas that have required drainage, such as The Fens in eastern England and much of the Netherlands. Roadside ditches may provide a hazard to motorists and cyclists, whose vehicles may crash into them and get damaged, flipped over, or stuck and cause major injury, especially in poor weather conditions and rural areas. Etymology In Anglo-Saxon, the word ''dïc'' already existed and was pronounced "deek" in northern England and "deetch" in the south. The origins of the word lie in digging a trench and forming the upcast soil into a bank alongside it. This practice has meant that the name ''dïc'' was given to either the excavation or the bank, and evolved to both the words "dike"/"dyke" and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
High Council Of Kings Of Benin
The High Council of Kings of Benin (French language, French: Haut Conseil des rois du Bénin), sometimes simply referred to as the High Council of Kings (French: Haut Conseil des Rois) or HCRB, is a Non-governmental organization, non-governmental organisation that represents the various Non-sovereign monarchy, non-sovereign monarchies based in Benin. Structure The current president of HCRB is Kpodégbé Djigla, Kpodégbé Toyi Djigla, the king of Kingdom of Ardra, Ardra. Its current Secretary (title), secretary general is King Gangorosuambou of Kika. The organisation is entirely made up by Non-sovereign monarchy, non-sovereign kings located within Benin. In order for a kingdom to be admitted to the organisation, it must have historical roots, have legal and political recognition, and have control over some piece of territory. The sub-national monarchies in Benin do not have official, political authority within the republic, but they hold influence within their local area and are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kpodégbé Djigla
Kpodégbé Lanmanfan Toyi Djigla is the 16th king of the Fon State of Allada in central Benin. He rose to the throne on December 2, 1992 and is the first king of the kingdom since the death of King Gi-gla I in 1909. Until 2016 the king of Allada served as the president of the Supreme Council of Kings of Benin. His successor to the presidency is Sébastien Ajavon. Kpodégbé Toyi Djigla is currently president of the High Council of Kings of Benin. He is married to Queen Djéhami Kpodégbé Kwin-Epo. See also *List of rulers of the Fon state of Alada *List of current constituent African monarchs This is a list of reigning non-sovereign monarchs, including traditional rulers and governing constitutional monarchs, but not the kings of Lesotho, Morocco and Eswatini. Each monarch listed below reigns over a legally recognised dominion, but ... References {{reflist 21st-century Beninese people Beninese Ahmadis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chef Supérieur
Chef supérieur, literally 'superior chief', was an official title in French, used by European (notably French and Belgian) colonial authorities to classify native chiefs whose tribal position was thus considered as higher than those of other tribal chiefs. There are no fixed rules for correspondence with the usually pre-existent native rapport. Cases in French colonies ''(this list is probably very incomplete)'' *in Dahomey (present Benin) : in Alada, since 1909, as colonial style of the native dynasty, styled ''Ajahutonon'' or ''Alada hosu'' after the annexation of their former Fon kingdom *in Togo : the ''Togbé Ahuawoto'' (still of the Lawson family) of Lolan See also Similar titles in English are *High Chief *Paramount Chief A paramount chief is the English-language designation for the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with a chief-based system. This term is used occasionally in anthropological and arch .. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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